My Swing (saevel25)

[saevel25]

So today I played a par 3 course. Nasty par 3 course, nearly half the holes are over 200 yards.

Same issues, hooking my irons a tad too much. Also catching them slightly thin. I think the issue is, when I am doing that hip move, I am just standing up out of my posture and just doing the opposite of what I need, basically getting early extension. I need later and faster extension. I need to keep a little more flex in that front knee then fire that hip up and back by pushing through the ground with my front leg.

Putting as bad on the front nine. I need to do more right hand only strokes. I am pulling left to right breaking putts. I do think I putt better when I am bent over at the waist a bit more, with softer elbows. I think I get too upright, and too rigid with my arms.

So I spent an hour after the round on the practice green and was working on right hand only stroke. Then taking my stance behind the ball, trying to keep that right arm softer and tucked into my right side more. I did this for a while and found it much easier to putt, especially on shorter putts.

Still need to practice my short game. I have no distance control with any sort of pitch or chip shot. I could put 4 balls down on the fringe and try to pitch to a hole 30 feet away and have one end up 15 feet short, one end up near the hole, and the other two end up somewhere from off the green to maybe a 5 foot duff.

Big plus is, the last hole, it was a par 4. there are two par 4's on this par 3 course. Well I was 70 yards out. So I thought, don't need to hit it high or low, so I took my 56 degree. Looked at the label I put on it, saw that I needed to make a swing somewhere between my half and 3/4 swing. I ended up hitting the shot to about 12 feet.

[CarlSpackler]

I never made it out this weekend. Overdid it at the gym this morning. You have league tomorrow night, right?

[saevel25]

I never made it out this weekend. Overdid it at the gym this morning. You have league tomorrow night, right?

Yep, usually tee off 4-4:30, and get done about 6:30-7:00.

[CarlSpackler]

Yep, usually tee off 4-4:30, and get done about 6:30-7:00.

KHawk?

[saevel25]

KHawk?

Nope the Eagle. Hawk is in the spring.

[CarlSpackler]

Nope the Eagle. Hawk is in the spring.

I was abbreviating KHawk to be sure it was Community. I might be out on the practice hole tomorrow evening.

[saevel25]

Summary of Tonight's round

+5 40

Driving was awesome. I decided to give that Callaway driver a shot. Lets just say, sorry @Jeremie Boop ep it now.

Irons were so-so, slight distance control issues, but the strike was pretty solid.

Didn't have to do much pitching. Had a great bunker shot on a par 5, about 40 yards to the green, left it about 15 feet bellow the pin.

Putting was HORRIBLE. If it is a long putt or left to right breaking putt I hit the ball on the heel. I have no idea why, but I ended up a good 15 feet short one two putts tonight because of it. Just not consistent at all. Back to the putting practice!!! I three putted two greens.

My one feel for tonight was keeping my front knee flexed a tad longer in the downswing to allow the lateral shift of the hips, then let it explode upward. When I do this, I hit some great shots. I absolutely pound the ball off the tee. So hopefully that was the issue, like I described in a previous post with the straightening of the front leg too early, and not getting the weight forward (the tendency to fall onto my back foot and my head moving away from the target in the downswing). Keeping that front knee flexed more helps with my centered turn, and keeping my head still. Just seems to free up a lot of things in my swing. Felt really easy to hit a powerful golf shot tonight. Hopefully this is the fix I need, I'll have to get some video for an update.

My short game feel is a bit different. Since I struggle with the dipping of the knees and too flippy. What I do now for a practice swing is take the club back and hold it for second then I just turn my body towards the target letting the clubhead fall through the grass. Just trying to get the feel of more turn, and keeping my knees from dipping. This seems to really help out. I hit a few good pitch and chips tonight.

[Jeremie Boop]

Summary of Tonight's round

+5 40

Driving was awesome. I decided to give that Callaway driver a shot. Lets just say, sorry @Jeremie Boop I might just keep it now.

Irons were so-so, slight distance control issues, but the strike was pretty solid.

Didn't have to do much pitching. Had a great bunker shot on a par 5, about 40 yards to the green, left it about 15 feet bellow the pin.

Putting was HORRIBLE. If it is a long putt or left to right breaking putt I hit the ball on the heel. I have no idea why, but I ended up a good 15 feet short one two putts tonight because of it. Just not consistent at all. Back to the putting practice!!! I three putted two greens.

My one feel for tonight was keeping my front knee flexed a tad longer in the downswing to allow the lateral shift of the hips, then let it explode upward. When I do this, I hit some great shots. I absolutely pound the ball off the tee. So hopefully that was the issue, like I described in a previous post with the straightening of the front leg too early, and not getting the weight forward (the tendency to fall onto my back foot and my head moving away from the target in the downswing). Keeping that front knee flexed more helps with my centered turn, and keeping my head still. Just seems to free up a lot of things in my swing. Felt really easy to hit a powerful golf shot tonight. Hopefully this is the fix I need, I'll have to get some video for an update.

My short game feel is a bit different. Since I struggle with the dipping of the knees and too flippy. What I do now for a practice swing is take the club back and hold it for second then I just turn my body towards the target letting the clubhead fall through the grass. Just trying to get the feel of more turn, and keeping my knees from dipping. This seems to really help out. I hit a few good pitch and chips tonight.

I'd rather you liked it and it helped your game more than not liking it and selling it to me man. I've got my eye on that G30 anyway if you decide that the Callaway is going to stay in the bag.

[CarlSpackler]

Meanwhile, I was over at the practice hole when the skies opened up. On the plus side, I got to visit with Brandi who came over to seek shelter under "the tree".

[saevel25]

Meanwhile, I was over at the practice hole when the skies opened up. On the plus side, I got to visit with Brandi who came over to seek shelter under "the tree".

I wondered about that. I got lucky and we got done playing golf about 30 minutes before the rain started.

[CarlSpackler]

I wondered about that. I got lucky and we got done playing golf about 30 minutes before the rain started.

Yeah. I got soaked.

[Jeremie Boop]

Yeah. I got soaked.

Got soaked with Brandi under the tree.... I knew I should have come down there to practice!

[saevel25]

So looking at my putting tonight. I pulled up the video from when I was up in Erie, PA.

Some differences from what I was doing, and what I was suppose to do.

I was getting my elbows too tucked in and too bent over the ball. I also thinking my hands were creeping up, making the heel come off the ground. When I looked at the video I found that my posture was more in a relaxed position, and my arms hanged loosely straight down under my shoulders. So I focused on that, and things got a lot better. Keeping my arms relaxed more, and being in a more comfortable posture let the putting stroke happen more naturally. Before I was trying to add wrist hinge with little arm movement, to gain the float. I do tend to be too firm with the wrist in my putting stroke. So my logic was to add the hinge in. I just needed to get into a better relaxed posture and let the weight of the club do the work. Basically I was doing stupid stuff again.

When in doubt, check the video!!!

[saevel25]

So shot a +3 38 tonight.

Bogey the first hole with a three putt from 20 feet. Jacked the first putt 5 feet past, and missed the short left to right breaker. Those left to right putts are driving me nuts right now.

Bogey the 5th hole with a three putt from 35 feet. Left the first putt about 5 feet short and missed another left to right breaking short putt.

Birdied the 6th hole, great bunker shot to about 8 feet, sank the putt.

Doubled Bogey the 7th hole, snapped a drive into the hazard on the left, then got it on the green. Three putted from 35 feet. Given I was on the top tier, and its nearly impossible to stop the ball with in 5 feet of the hole.

Driving: Started out OK, then started developing the lefts, and then two snap hooks to finish the round.

Irons were too much draw. I had a 9 iron on the first par 3 and it drew about 20 yards left. I had an uphill lie on the par 5 and left it about 20 yards short of the green, had a pitching wedge in. Just had a weird scoop the ball feeling to it. Hit a nice draw on the last par 3, but the wind was out of the right so the ball ended up carrying 5 yards too far. I ended up just on the back fringe. The pin was back, but I had a down hill left to right putt. Last hole I slightly pulled a wedge to about 15 feet.

Of course Putting sucked, I had 20 putts. Just horrible. Three putting is killing me. I should have been 2 strokes less tonight. Everything felt ok putting, just was hitting putts too long. A little too much pop in the putting stroke. Maybe a bit longer but slower putting stroke might help calm it down. I might be getting a too quick in the downstroke.

[CarlSpackler]

If your goal was to sandbag, that was an epic fail. ;-)

[saevel25]

If your goal was to sandbag, that was an epic fail.

I can't sandbag man, I am too damn competitive against my own game.

[CarlSpackler]

I can't sandbag man, I am too damn competitive against my own game. :-D

I know what you mean.

[saevel25]

Played pretty decent tonight for hitting some AWEFULL shots. Ended up shooting +3 38

Off the tee

Driver: Pull draw, Push Draw, Push Draw, Push, Push Fade

3-wood: Chunky push (shallow divot started about 3 inches behind the ball

Irons: Chunked a 7 iron (divot started about 6 inches behind the ball ). Tried to hit an easy 8 iron, but went all arms and hit it on the toe into the front bunker. Was all arms on a 4 iron on the last hole, ended up hitting a big push right. Had a 5 iron into the first par 5 and straight draw into the bunker left of the green. Had a 9 iron into the 2nd par 5 and hit this clanky shot that ended up hitting hard pan and bouncing to the back tier.

Putting was better, had 16 putts, still had a three putt.

So the lesson from tonight. I make some pretty damn good shots when I swing 3/4 feel, and TURN THE DAMN HIPS!!! Sometimes I get stuck in the old habit of swinging less, and I just trying to drop the clubhead on the ball. I end up chunking stuff.

Slowly more better shots hard happening than bad ones. So change is happening. Just need to keep at it. What really has transformed my wedge game is getting those yardages for different swing lengths.